The art relating to water soluble polymeric films recognizes the use of the films in packaging. The primary commercial use of such packages has been in household applications in which pre-measured quantities of detergent materials can be packaged in water-soluble films for ease of use. Soluble packaging can also eliminate problems concerned with dusting and human contact with dust which can cause chemical attack and/or irritation of human skin and eyes and can cause other problems upon ingestion or inhalation (see U.S. Pat. No. 3,198,740).
For industrial purposes, the art has described larger water soluble bags containing multiple use amounts of a pelletized functional composition used in a dispenser where the water soluble bag is dissolved upon contact with a spray or stream of water from dispenser exposing the pellets to the water. (See U.S. Pat. No. 5,078,301).
Widespread use of water soluble packets containing detergent compounds has been hampered by physical and chemical compatibility of film with water and detersire systems. Many films such as polyvinyl-pyrrolidone, polyethyloxazoline and polyvinyl alcohol films can react with or interact with active components of a detersive system. Such films are known to be sensitive to moisture, which can soften the film and reduce tensile strength. However, more importantly, many of the chemicals commonly used in detergent compositions can attack the film and cause failure in the package integrity and/or water solubility especially when stored or used in humid conditions.
To this date, plastic bags containing uniform perforations have not been described using water soluble films. U.S. Pat. No. 4,743,123 describes a polyethylene plastic bag with laser-formed venting perforations.